1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a relay server and a relay communication system that enable resource sharing via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A communication system referred to as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is known in the conventional art. The VPN is used, for example, to provide communication over the Internet between terminals connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) of a plurality of branch offices (base points) established in separate regions. Through the use of the VPN, each client terminal can share various resources (such as folders, files, etc.) held by apparatuses connected to another LAN arranged in a remote location.
However, in the VPN, because the resources are shared by the apparatuses connected to the other LAN arranged in the remote location, it is extremely difficult to synchronize information related to the resources between each apparatus that shares the resources. In particular, when the apparatus that manages the resources directly changes the resources in a manner that is not via the network, the other apparatuses cannot recognize the change.
Accordingly, a technique that can easily synchronize the resources and the resource-related information shared by each apparatus connected to the network has been desired.